It’s very common to see creative artists who also suffer from mental illness. The connection between mental disorder and creativity is well established and publicized.
We have an idea of the creative artist as a tortured soul, ensconced all day in a garret creating brilliant work to stave off the inevitable breakdown. We hear all about the author who writes a bestseller in a manic haze, fifty pages a day.
Is there an actual link between madness and genius, or are these merely isolated cases that have gotten a great deal of press?
Researches and scholars still don’t all agree on the answer. There are several studies which indicate a correlation between creativity and mental illness, however.
The first, conducted by Stanford University School of Medicine, looked at measures of artistic creativity in children. They found that kids with higher risk of eventually developing bipolar disorder (because a parent also had bipolar disorder, or because they have ADHD) score significantly higher on measures of artistic creativity than do children who are not at elevated risk for bipolar disorder. This is a compelling finding, and medical professionals intend to explore the issue further.
Another study, conducted jointly by the University of Toronto and Harvard, found that very creative people are less able to disregard external stimuli. They are more distractible, and thus work best in quiet and isolated conditions.
No one can dispute that many of the most famous artists and writers and musicians of the modern age have struggled with mental disorders like depression or bipolar disorder. Some of these creative people are household names because of their accomplishments, even.
We won’t resolve the debate over the link between madness and creativity any time soon. We will likely continue to discuss this matter for decades to come. Until researchers come up with the irrefutable proof to establish the causal link, or disprove it entirety, the popular image of the tortured artist will continue to fascinate us all.
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